Login
or
Register
Home
»
Trains Magazine
»
Forums
»
General Discussion
»
Transportation Infrastructure - Who Will Finance Rail?
Edit post
Edit your reply below.
Post Body
Enter your post below.
<P mce_keep="true">[quote user="henry6"] <P>[quote user="Bucyrus"] <P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Since the public sector produces nothing and therefore creates no money of its own, it would take all the money the private sector has if not for the resistance put up by the private sector.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In economic terms, government is a beggar with power.</FONT> </P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN></P> <P>[/quote]</P> <P>On the contrary, public funds invested in the Interstate highway system opened up many money making opportunities in transportation and its attending fields including, but not limited to, vehicle sales, gasoline sales, nationwide restaurant chains, local and nationwide hotel chains; industrial development in many communities, etc. And the creation of these industries and services accompanied by the paychecks produced, have given back monies to the governments in the form of income, sales, and other taxes. The government's investment in Conrail paid itself back not just in stock sale but also in bolstering the economy (tax base) of much of the east. Early governments bonding, granting, loaning and legislating allowed for turnpikes, canals, waterways, and railroads to build and expand the economy. The airline industry is supported by government military r&d, federal operation of airways, and owned and owned and operated airports all of which supposedly have benefits which go directly into the communities and their governments. Oh, there have been governement boondogles, no one is denying that. Private Sector Business has laid many bombs itself from products and service that were not needed, wanted, or viable from the start to Big Businesses missing the mark with things like the New Coke! [/quote]</P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Your response to my quote seems to miss my point.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It is not surprising that when the government pours money into a public work, that there are winners somewhere downstream.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>But I don’t see how that refutes what I have said.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I am not saying that there is no benefit when the government invests.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>When the government takes a dollar from one person and gives it to another, it certainly benefits the person receiving it.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>But not only is there unfairness is this redistribution of the dollar, there is also the government’s cost of overhead, which might require them to take two dollars from one person in order to give one dollar to another person.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></P><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"> <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT> <P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">You compare government boondoggles with similarly unfortunate investments of private business and conclude that they both are guilty.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>But the two are not comparable.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>One acts with care because it assumes the risk for its own money, and the other is free to operate with no risk because it takes somebody else’s money.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The motivation to spend money just to increase its own power, and the ability to do so without financial risk is the reason that government is so inefficient at doing things that could be done by the private sector.</SPAN></P>
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag
Update Reply
Join our Community!
Our community is
FREE
to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.
Login »
Register »
Search the Community
Newsletter Sign-Up
By signing up you may also receive occasional reader surveys and special offers from Trains magazine.Please view our
privacy policy
More great sites from Kalmbach Media
Terms Of Use
|
Privacy Policy
|
Copyright Policy